Miranda class
The Miranda-class starship was a type of light cruiser introduced by Starfleet in the late 23rd century through the late 24th century. History Introduced in the latter half of the 23rd century, these ships typically performed patrol and survey assignments. Despite the small size, the class performed satisfactorily well into the 24th century, with the oldest members of this class continuing their service lifetimes as transports. Several series of the ships were produced throughout the 23rd and 24th centuries, with many still serving in the fleet through the mid-2370s. These vessels notably served in a large number of engagements during the Dominion War. Used primarily as escorts, many were subsequently lost. Many ships of the class saw action during Operation Return, the First and Second Battles of Chin'toka and the Battle of Cardassia. Many ships of the class were stationed near Deep Space 9. Technical Data Physical Arrangement The configuration of the Miranda-class shares a similar design lineage and features with the ''Constitution''-class, implemented in 2270. All Miranda-class starships have a saucer section making up the majority of the vessel. The saucer is similar to that of a Constitution-class, but with a bulkier aft end with shuttlebays and a Warp core. Below the saucer, at the aft edges, are the nacelle pylons connected to the warp nacelles. There are four configurations of the Miranda-class. The most common was the ''Reliant'' configuration, which had a "roll bar" immediately above the nacelle pylons. The "roll bar" had two phaser arrays on each side that can fire foward and aft, and 2 forward photon torpedo launchers and 2 rear photon torpedo launchers. Another configuration was the ''Lantree'' configuration, which lacked the "roll bar" and featured class 3 defensive armaments. The other Miranda configurations were: * The ''Saratoga'' configuration, which lacked the "roll bar", and had two large sensor pods installed on the port and starboard sides of the ship. It also had a phaser array mounted on the lower part of the sensor dome; and * The ''Majestic'' configuration, which had the "roll bar", but it had an extra set of impulse engines where the rear photon torpedo launchers typically were located. The warp nacelles on this configuration were different from the other Miranda configurations. Interior Design Main Bridge The Miranda-class bridge of the 23rd century shared a similar layout to that of the upgraded Constitution class vessels. Located on Deck 1 of the saucer section, the Main Bridge houses the command center of the Miranda-class. The design lineage of the main bridge is a fairly standard floorplan for a Federation starship. Located in the front was the ship's viewscreen, with side-by-side navigator and helm consoles. The captain's chair is directly aft of the aforementioned stations. At the center, rear of the bridge, was the turbolift-entryway. The primary stations, which were located along the rear of the bridge included the tactical station on the port side of the bridge. Along the rear, starboard side of the bridge was the primary science station and communications station. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) :The bridge of the [[USS Reliant|''Reliant]], appearing in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was a redress of the Enterprise bridge, with different colours and a rearrangement of the panels. Because of this, some of the displays mistakenly had diagrams of the Constitution-class ships on them. The bridge of the Miranda-class [[#USS Saratoga (NCC-1867)|USS Saratoga (NCC-1867)]] in Star Trek IV was similar to the ''Reliant'' bridge.'' Later 24th century Miranda bridges used flat touch interfaces and consoles like those used on other 24th century vessels. Ships Commissioned *[[USS Brattain|USS Brattain]] (NCC-21166) *[[USS Lantree|USS Lantree]] (NCC-1837) *[[USS Majestic|USS Majestic]] (NCC-31060) *[[USS Nautilus|USS Nautilus]] (NCC-31910) *[[USS Reliant|USS Reliant]] (NCC-1864) *[[USS Saratoga|USS Saratoga]] (NCC-1867) *[[USS Saratoga|USS Saratoga]] (NCC-31911) *[[USS ShirKahr|USS ShirKahr]] (NCC-31905) *[[USS Sitak|USS Sitak]] *[[USS Tian An Men|USS Tian An Men]] (NCC-21832) Appendices Appearances *Star Trek Movies: ** Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ** Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home * TNG: ** "Unnatural Selection" ** "Redemption, Part II" ** "Night Terrors" ** "Unification I" * DS9: ** "Emissary" *Star Trek Movies: **Star Trek: Generations'' * DS9: ** "The Way of the Warrior" * Star Trek Movies: ** Star Trek: First Contact * DS9: ** "By Inferno's Light" ** "Call to Arms" ** "A Time to Stand" ** "Sons and Daughters" ** "Behind the Lines" ** "Favor the Bold" ** "Sacrifice of Angels" ** "You Are Cordially Invited..." ** "The Magnificent Ferengi" ** "The Reckoning" ** "Tears of the Prophets" ** "Afterimage" ** "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River" ** "Strange Bedfellows" ** "The Changing Face of Evil" ** "Tacking Into the Wind" ** "What You Leave Behind" * VOY: ** "Endgame" Background In episodes of DS9 featuring combat, the Miranda Class is often used as cannon fodder. No fewer then 12 were seen on screen as being either destroyed, or severely damaged, more then any other class of warship used by Starfleet. This included the show's pilot episode (USS Saratoga), and losses incurred in Operation Return (USS Sitak). Name The name Miranda-class was not mentioned in dialogue onscreen, but was devised by the art department of TNG to refer to this design. The name was used on several pieces of onscreen signage referring to these vessels, and is also used by official references such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia. Model The Miranda-class model was designed and built for the production of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The script called for Reliant, an older cruiser of "''Enterprise'''s own class" but of a "different configuration." This ended up being a different class of starship in it's own right, the first distinct Federation starship design other than the NCC-1701 to ever appear in a filmed, live-action Star Trek production. The Miranda filming models for that movie were designed by Joe Jennings and Mike Minor and built by ILM. The high quality studio model continued to be reused for over fifteen years by the producers of TNG and DS9 to represent a plethora of different starships and classes. Even as the original models were worn out, new CGI Miranda''s were created and used during the later years. The ''Miranda-class model was originally designed "upside-down", with the nacelles above the dish and the "roll-bar" bellow the dish. However, when the initial drawing was sent to Paramount for approval, the staff at Paramount saw the drawing upside-down and thought that it was actually the design for the ship. Specifications The specifications for the Miranda were not mentioned in dialogue, but are referenced from the show's art department sources by the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, although the measurements printed there are incorrect in comparison to actual lengths taken from examination of the studio model (the graphic used to represent Miranda in both the Encyclopedia and the DS9 TM is measured poorly, this seems to be the source of the mistake). The length shown here is based the official overall length as given during the production of the movie, that was later followed up by Andrew Probert during TNG Season 1. The remainder of the measurements are based proportionally on the original length, and confirmed based on the measurements of the indentical components used in the Constitution class design. Apocrypha After it's 1982 premier in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, fan produced blueprints named this ship type the Avenger Class Heavy Frigate. Further non-canon fan publications created its mid-23rd century prececessor the Surya-class. Ships of the Starfleet suggests that the prototype vessel USS Miranda had the registry NCC-1833. Some sources have described the class as the Reliant-class. Apocryphal Appearances * The Interplay PC Game Starfleet Academy features several Miranda-class vessels including: - USS Rutherford (NCC-1835), USS Alexandria (NCC-1842), USS Tempest (NCC-1852), USS Atlantis (NCC-1865), USS Dementer (NCC-1868), and USS Oberon (NCC-1880). * The Interplay PC Game New Worlds features the Miranda-class vessel, USS Ranger (NCC-1975). * The Activision PC Game The Fallen features the Miranda-class vessel, [[USS Ulysses|USS Ulysses]] (NCC-10767). Category:Federation starship classes de:Miranda-Klasse es:Clase Miranda nl:Miranda klasse